New Delhi:The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday criticised the Congress-led government for contending before the Supreme Court that the Ram Setu was not integral to the Hindu religion and termed it a "deliberate attempt" to hurt Hindu sentiments. "Who gave the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government the right to judge what is integral to a religion or not?" BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad asked while talking to reporters.
Accusing the government of indulging in "vote bank politics", Prasad said: "I want to know if they (the government) can, on affidavit, question before the Supreme Court the validity of symbols of faith of other religions." Prasad said the government was bent upon destroying the Ram Setu and was trying to find the perfect excuse. "They (the government) had earlier filed an affidavit calling Lord Ram a fictional character and later stated that Ram destroyed the Ram Setu while returning to India," Prasad said.
The spokesperson said that all such acts are "deliberate attempts to hurt Hindu sentiments". Ram Setu, also known as Adam s Bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals 48 km long. Many Hindus believe that it was built during Ram s era to facilitate his journey from southern India to Sri Lanka. The government is keen on taking up the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project, building a shorter sea route around India s southern tip, which will require dredging across the Ram Setu. Hindu outfits have opposed the step on religious grounds.
